Clifford Scott Green

Clifford Scott Green (April 2, 1923 – May 31, 2007) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Green was the eighteenth African-American Article III judge appointed in the United States, and the second African-American judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. During his 36 years on the federal bench Judge Green presided over a number of notable cases, and was regarded as one of the most popular judges in the district.

Early life and education Green was born on April 2, 1923, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father, Robert Lewis Green, had come to the United States from St. Thomas island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Green attended West Philadelphia High School, graduating in 1941. He initially did consider going to college, and instended instead to go immediately to work. Green decided to pursue a career in law, something his father had dreamed of doing himself. He enrolled at Temple Law School as one of ten black students, of whom two would ultimately graduate (the other graduate, Larry Perkins, would also go on to become a judge).

Legal career

Green passed the Pennsylvania bar exam in 1951, achieving the highest score in the state. The firm, which never numbered more than a dozen lawyers at a given time, produced four federal judges; Higginbotham, Green, and Herbert Hutton all served on the District Court (Higginbotham was later elevated to the Third Circuit), and William Hall was the first African American appointed as a federal magistrate judge.

Scranton ultimately did appoint Green as a judge on the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia in 1964. Senator Hugh Scott supported Green to fill the position. He assumed senior status on April 2, 1988, and continued serving in that capacity until his death. The case, which began in 1973, resulted in a consent decree that required the State Police to hire one minority for every non-minority hired, and set additional goals for promotion and retention of minority troopers. The case was credited with helping to abolish racism in the hiring of troopers, and integrate the State Police.

In 1981 Judge Green threw out the fraud conviction of Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Fumo, concluding that the government had failed to prove that Fumo and two others were involved in a single scheme to pad state payrolls with ghost workers as alleged in their indictment.

Awards and honors Judge Green was the first recipient of the NAACP's William H. Hastie award in 1985. He was awarded the Spirit of Excellence award by the American Bar Association in 2002. The Philadelphia chapter of the Judicial Council of the National Bar Association is named in Judge Green's honor. The Criminal Law Committee of the Federal Bar Association's Philadelphia Chapter gives a Clifford Scott Green Bill of Rights Award at its biennial dinner event. Judge Green was a lifetime trustee of Temple University, and a former member of the Board of Trustees of Philadelphia State Hospital, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Death Judge Green suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died of pneumonia in Philadelphia on May 31, 2007. He was survived by his wife, daughter and grand-daughter. In 2003, Temple University Beasley School of Law established The Honorable Clifford Scott Green Lectureship.